1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the transferring of Internet messages from a linear posting forum database into a specialized forum to be edited and revised for subsequent publishing.
2. Background of the Prior Art
The posting of information on the Internet (a global information computer network) for others to read and comment upon is well known in the prior art. The posting of information is typically effected through an e-mail user group, a message forum or a newsgroups. The information is posted in a linear format whereby a first message is posted and others may then comment or discuss the original posting (first message). This type of posting format does not permit message editing or other types of message manipulation of the originally posted message, or any messages posted thereafter in response thereto, but instead requires a new “thread” to be posted with the updated information or data. Accordingly, a long discussed topic can be filled with inaccurate data throughout the postings. This makes it difficult for someone to sort through all of the postings and find the most relevant and accurate information. Various U.S. Patents have issued dealing with the posting of information on the Internet.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,154,764 discloses an electronic conferencing system where users may post and read messages allowing for the deletion of messages. A major deficiency of this prior art reference is the inability to transfer selected messages from one conference to another.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,385 discloses a digital data transmission system where each message is preceded by a headnote, structured so that upon reception, the receiver can select messages based upon a combination of hierarchical and relational views of the message data, without any interaction whatsoever with the broadcast system. This prior art reference provides no additional tools for editing and updating the messages selected.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,917 discloses a mass electronic mail where subscribers in each community have common rights of access to one or more communication services permitting the sending and receiving of mail messages. However, the rights are generally different from those of subscribers in other communities. This invention provides no additional tools for editing and updating messages.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,269 is an apparatus and method for dynamically sub-grouping messages in a news network provided to assist posters and readers in the news network. This prior art features reference categories and subcategories which may be filtered and sorted by the user. However, this invention provides no additional tools for editing and updating of messages posted.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,856 discloses a flexible, event driven and conditional rule-based mail messaging system which can be transparently implemented for use in electronic mail applications. However, this provides no specific methods for duplicating messages posted into a new forum.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,994 is a method and apparatus for integrating the operation of various independent software applications directed to the management of information within an enterprise. However, such applications provide no uniform tool for importing messages from one forum to another location.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,943 discloses an apparatus and method for integrating a knowledge base management system with a database system. This invention provides no method for editing the data within the database.
The aforementioned prior art systems do not provide a method to easily edit messages in news groups and message forums in preparation for publishing. What is needed is an efficient method for importing messages into a database that will allow for editing and revising of the messages. This would allow the messages to be easily arranged for publishing in a web page, book form, or other known publishing format.